Changes in climate have serious impacts on agriculture and food security. Risks such as drought, pests, and floods can significantly affect agricultural production and rural livelihoods. At the same time, food production also contributes to climate change through the release of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), and it can impact the environment through deforestation and water pollution. The ability to provide enough food for growing human populations using climate-resilient methods is a global challenge, especially in the face of climate change.
SERVIR addresses these challenges by working with agricultural decision-makers at the regional, national, and local levels. SERVIR supports improved cropland and rangeland monitoring, yield estimation and forecasting, and strengthened early warning and anticipatory actions for the agricultural sector.
To address needs related to agriculture and food security, SERVIR applies Earth observations with diverse partners in the public and private sectors. For example, SERVIR uses Earth observations to help countries produce crop maps, which are fundamental inputs for national agricultural monitoring systems and greenhouse gas emissions reporting. SERVIR also leverages satellite-based vegetation and precipitation data and tools to support rangeland monitoring services for pastoralists. Timely and reliable temperature and precipitation forecasts can offer useful information for farmers to help increase yield and income. Crop yield predictions also inform policy and action on food security, such as agricultural insurance assessments or the distribution of aid following droughts.
Other activities include efforts to assess impact and support recovery from market- and climate-related shocks through crop insurance mechanisms, damage assessments, and food security outlooks. Many of these services also enhance the resilience of the agricultural sector by working with the risk financing sector and anticipatory action frameworks.
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Crop Type Mapping and Condition Assessment in Senegal
The Crop Type Mapping and Condition Assessment in Senegal service will develop tools for estimating crop yields and provide early warning of food insecurity throughout the sub-regio
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Enhancing Drought Resilience and Crop Yield Security for the Lower Mekong
The Enhancing Drought Resilience and Crop Yield Security for the Lower Mekong Service provides drought nowcasts and forecasts at the regional level in the Lower Mekong Region and pr
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Regional Cropland Assessment and Monitoring Service
The Regional Cropland Assessment and Monitoring Service seeks to provide timely information for food security assessments through the development of national and regional crop monitors in East Africa.
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Regional Drought Monitoring and Outlook System for South Asia
The Regional Drought Monitoring and Outlook System (RDMOS) was developed in close collaboration with the John Hopkins University Applied Science Team (AST) and relevant national age
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Weaving Satellite Data into an Ecosystem of Farmer Support
Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture is collaborating with USAID and NASA to use satellite tools that expand their understanding of the climate-related challenges that farmers are facing.
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Phone to Food: Mapping Rice in Nepal
In the low-lying Terai region of Nepal, fields of emerald green rice sweep across the landscape as far as the eye can see. Villages dot the region, which produces the majority of Nepal’s rice.
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Could Satellites Help Head Off a Locust Invasion?
A single desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) can consume its body weight in vegetation in one day. That may not sound like much for one 2.5-gram locust, but when 40 million of them gather they can devour as much food as 35,000 people.
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Use Case: Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives (MoALFC)
Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives (MoALFC) aims to increase agricultural and food productivity and outputs to ensure national food security.
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Use Case: Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC)
Enhancing Flood Early Warning Services aims to build the resilience of vulnerable communities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region by increasing flood forecast lead times that are hosted on an interactive web platform.
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Video: SERVIR Uses Satellite Data to Monitor Locust Swarms in Eastern Africa
To fight locusts in east Africa, SERVIR Global is using NASA satellites to guide USAID and FAO resources on the ground. Watch how technology in space can help combat an ancient plague.
